"Oh… brat, you have learnt how to negotiate?"

A man with spiky, light brown hairs and prominent jawline is resting against a boulder as he stares at Deidara. ​​

"Shut up… bastard… I will blow that grin from your face."

Deidara snorts at the person.

"Oh!… then care to try. I am curious to see you try."

Crackle… crackle…

He cracks his knuckles and walks towards Deidara.

"Forget it… I have no interest in your explosions."

Deidara ignores him and walks away.

Bonk…

The person grabs Deidara's head and question.

"So… this is how you treat your Captain."

Humph…

Deidara snorts and escapes from his grasp.

"Gari… you were a former member of the Explosive Corps. Now both of us are Rogue shinobi… so you are no longer the Captain."

Deidara opens the map and looks at the location. He tosses the scroll to Gari.

"This is our target. My art shall shine once again."

Gari grabs the scroll and looks at the map.

"Sakanagakure… so this is our new target. This village is close to our current location."

Gari rolls up the scroll and follows Deidara.

-------------------------

"We are here."

Itachi and Izumi reach the island.

"Let's meet up with the village chief… he was the one who asked for help."

"Let's go…"

Both of them flicker towards the Sakanagakure village. A few moments later, the village appears in their vision.

"Halt… outsiders aren't allowed in the village. State your purpose."

A group of Ninja guards with a fish symbol on their headband stops them.

"We are from Konoha… your village leader asked for our help."

Itachi passes the scroll to the guards.

Hmm…

The guards recognize the scroll and allow them entry in the village.

Itachi and Izumi walk through the streets of the Sakanagakure as Itachi scrutinizes the villagers.

'Hmm… seems like there is not much liveliness within the village. The imminent threat of an attack has almost halted their lives.

In terms of security… the five hidden villages are a haven for civilians.'

Itachi shakes his head as memories of the Uchiha Incident floods in his mind.

'The hidden villages have their problems and power struggles.'

"Neh… Neh… Itachi, what do you think of this necklace? Does this suit me?"

Izumi tugs Itachi's sleeve as she showcases a beautiful necklace to him.

"It is very good… I think it suits you."

Itachi nods his head.

"You think so too…"

Izumi hugs his arm as she laughs in happiness.

"Ojou-san… this necklace is one of a kind. It suits you very well and even your boyfriend likes it."

The merchant rubs his hand as he praises Izumi.

"Right… then I will buy this necklace. How much does it cost?"

Izumi asks for the price.

"Since it is you… Ojou-san… I won't charge too much… it would be 10,000 Ryo."

The merchant proposes the price.

"So expensive."

Itachi silently whispers to himself. He turns to Izumi to convince her to buy something else but the puppy eyes of Izumi hold him back.

"Fine… I will pay for it."

"Yay!… Itachi… you are the best."

Izumi hugs him tightly.

"Well… I am happy as long as you are happy."

Itachi smiles at her as they walk towards the centre of the village.

A middle-size house with a giant red symbol with Kanji for 'Village Head' appears in their vision.

"That's the house of the village chief. Let's discuss the details of the mission with him. He would fill us up on the latest intel."

Itachi walks towards the house and Izumi follows him. Itachi passes the request letter to one of the guards who allow them to enter inside the house.

Inside the house,

A middle-aged man is sitting on a tatami floor in a seiza position.

"I was waiting for you… guests from Konoha."

The middle-aged man greets them.

"The Sakanagakure village is in great danger, as many criminals from the previous war still haunt our land. They tainted the land of Sakanagakure with the blood of its people.

So… we would like to request your assistance in our struggle against those criminals."

The village head requests Itachi and Izumi.

"That's what we are here for?"

Izumi nods her head in affirmation.

The Village Chief stares at them with a surreal gaze before he questions them.

"Where is your backup? I don't think the two of you are enough to handle this situation."

The Village chief is sceptical of their abilities. Itachi senses the scepticism as he assures the Village Chief.

"It would be alright. Hokage-sama entrusted us with this mission because he trusts our abilities."

"Well… if you say…" The Village chief still has some doubts regarding Itachi's and Izumi's abilities.

BOOM…

The group hears the violent sound of an explosion at the outer periphery of the village.

The Village Chief frowns and stands from his seat.

"Looks like the enemy has made their move."

The Village head turns to his subordinates as he instructs them to form a team.

BOOM…

Another explosion occurs at the other end of the village.

"They even brought reinforcements with them."

The Village chief has a grim expression on his face.

"Izumi… I will handle intruders at the southern part of the village… go and take care of the attacker at the northern part."

Itachi instructs Izumi.

"Yes… Itachi."

Whoosh…

Itachi and Izumi flicker out of the house.

The Village Head commands his forces as he leads them towards the direction of the bombing.

----------------

In the skies of Sakanagakure,

Haha… Haha…

"This is it. This is Art."

Deidara is flying on top of a clay bird as he infuses some chakra in palms.

"Art is an explosion."

Boom…

He rains down multiple explosive clays on the village. A mouth opens on his left palm and chews the clay and shapes into multiple explosive birds and insects.

"C1"

The clay insects and birds stick to the surface of various houses in the village.

"Katsu"

Deidara makes a one-hand Ram seal as he detonates the explosive clay.

Boom…

Another explosion destroys a major part of the village.

"Haha… Fine art is the beauty of that single fleeting moment of the explosion."

Deidara laughs to himself as he appreciates his new piece of art.

"Those old senile geezers of Iwa had no appreciation for artistic values."

He scoffs at Iwa elders as he continues to wreak havoc in the village.

Whoosh… swish…

A lightning senbon pierces through the wings of the clay bird Deidara is riding on.

Chirp… chii… chii…

The lightning diffuses the clay as the bird starts to lose its shape.

"Who is it?"

Deidara jumps from the top of the bird. While in mid-air, he makes some hand signs and infuses some chakra in his palm as he spits out another bird from his left palm.

Deidara lands on top of the bird.

Whoosh…

Another lighting senbon pierces through the bird and destroys it.

"Fuck… who is this bastard? Show your face… you will pay for destroying my art."

Deidara performs a backflip and lands on the ground.

Whoosh… whoosh…

Multiple kunais aims at his blind spots from all different angles.

"Damn you…" Deidara curses as he throws multiple smaller C1 insects at the kunais and explodes them.

Swoosh… swoosh…

More shurikens aims at Deidara from the shadows of the previous shuriken.

'Shadow Shuriken Jutsu'

Deidara takes out a kunai from his holster and deflects all of the kunais.

Whoosh…

An agile figure appears behind Deidara.

"Lightning Release: Rain Cutter"

The figure slashes a lightning blade at Deidara.

Swish…

The blade pierces through Deidara's body.

Blob… blob…

Deidara's body inflates as more and more chakra is infused into it.

"Oh… No… an explosive clay clone…"

Swoosh…

The figure jumps back to avoid the explosion.

Boom…

The clone explodes and covers a large area. Dust and smoke cover the entire area.

Whoosh…

A figure jumps out from the smoke and performs some somersaults to stabilize itself.

'Hiding like a Mole Jutsu'

The real Deidara appears from the ground as he takes a closer look at his attacker.

"Hmm… a girl…"

Deidara frowns as he notices a girl with long brown hair tied into a ponytail. Two bangs of hairs are framing her face. She has onyx eyes and a mole under her right eye.

"So… you are the one who ruined my art? I don't care who you are… I won't let it slide."

Deidara crosses his arms as both of the mouths in his palms opens and ejects out a large amount of clay from them.

"C2"

The clay shapes into a large dragon. Deidara jumps on its back and rides it in the air.

"You have no appreciation for art. Now feel my art… because true art is an 'Explosion'."